Only one head coach in the NFL had the pleasure of coaching both Nick Foles and Case Keenum in the past few years. That same head coach failed to have any success with either quarterback, going 11-14 with them at the helm.

Of course, that coach is Jeff Fisher, who was fired by the Rams in 2016 after his fifth straight sub-.500 season with the team, failing to finish with a winning record even once. His tenure in St. Louis and Los Angeles was shaky at best, but it was made to look even worse by the success Keenum and Foles have had this season.

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They’re set to meet in the NFC Championship game on Sunday with one guaranteed to make an appearance at Super Bowl LII. Granted, both earned starting jobs after Carson Wentz and Sam Bradford got hurt, but they’ve made the most of their opportunities.

Fisher, for one, it’s at all surprised by how well they’re playing at this point in the year.

“Not surprised whatsoever – as is the case with Nick,” Fisher said on ProFootballTalk this week. “Credit goes to both organizations from the standpoint of realizing how important it is to have a quality backup quarterback. Both Nick and Case entered the same scenario at the start of the season: They were backups. They’re both experienced, they’ve won games, they’ve played tough opponents, they’ve won games against tough opponents. I’m not surprised at all.”

Fisher has come under a great deal of criticism this season for his inability to win with the Rams. Including the playoffs, Keenum, Foles and Jared Goff combined to go 25-8 this season. With the Rams, they were 11-21 combined. Obviously, that has much more to do with the team than it does the quarterback alone, but it’s a pretty glaring statistic.

Individually, they were far better this season than they were in Fisher’s scheme, too. With the Rams, they combined to throw 25 touchdown passes and 29 interceptions. This season, they had 55 touchdown passes and just 16 interceptions.

Is that a matter of Keenum, Foles and Goff developing? Absolutely. Did Fisher have plenty to do with their lack of success with the Rams, too? Certainly. Regardless of that discrepancy, both Keenum and Foles showed the work ethic to stick around as NFL quarterbacks.

“Both these guys park in the parking lot and run into the building because they’re so excited to come to work,” Fisher said. “There’s energy and they bring it and it’s why they’re playing in the NFC Championship. … I’m a Case Keenum fan, as I am a Nick Foles fan. And Case, his success this year isn’t surprising to me.”

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